A Voyage Into The Unknown!

Hello! Hope you're all well out there in Blogland.

Today marks a momentous (and somewhat nervewracking) day for me here at Snufflebean towers. I finally took the decision to list my latest creation on Etsy. Its simply too much for me to keep making blankets and stockpiling them, so I have tenantively listed one here.

Here is the blanket in question...

 

I've been experimenting with alternatives to the tradional pastel neutrals and I'm just a little bit in love with this colour scheme. Its sunny and calm, everything a baby blanket should be.

 

 

Time will tell if it sells, but for the moment I'm in love with its sunni-ness!

 

Also, I have ventured into the (somewhat confusing) world of facebook pages. Any likes are most welcome! www.facebook.com/mrssnufflebean

 

 

 

Mr Crocodile's Nautical-ish Blanket!

Well Hello! I haven't been around for a while, mainly because I've had nothing crochet related to report and my evenings have been taken up beavering away with this little lovely! (Those of you on instagram will have seen endless idenical photos of this as a WIP!)

 

A few months ago a friend asked me to make a blanket for her son (Mr Crocodile), and it just happened that I'd bought some lovely blue hues of Stylecraft Special DK on a whim from Lemonade Yarns, so it must've been fate as I instantly knew the colours would suit him down to a tee.

 

Its taken ages, its big (He's 6 so it needed to be bigger than my normal stuff), and there were times when I felt like I'd never finish it! But here it is... (Apologies in advance for the dark photos, its sooo sunny here that I couldn't get decent photos in my normal place and I was too impatient to wait until the sun swings round)

All of it!

Close Up

 

Scrunched Up

 

Folded Up!

 

 

A couple of the edge

 

 

I think I've finally settled on a method to edge my straight stripey blankets. I do 3 crochets across 2 rows, it produces a lovely even finish with no ruffling at the edges :-)

 

I'm at pains to part with this one, its so lovely and calming but I know its going to go to someone who will hopefully enjoy many hours snuggled under it.

 

Next I'm going to tackle a crochet Giraffe! So watch this space :-)

 

Im off to enjoy the sunshine with the tiddlers.

 

xx

 

A Long Long Time Ago...

There's not much going on in my little world at the moment. I'm still plodding along with my latest blanket, but there's only so many photos of a blue and stripey WIP I can post without sending people to sleep!

Talking of sleep... Snuffly seems to really like her new blanket, here she is in action (or inaction), with it :-)

 

Anyway, having recently rediscovered Instagram, I've been looking at all the lovely things people make and wishing I could make stuff as lovely as that! I was daydreaming being able to make patchwork quilts, when I realised one was staring me right in the face :-)

 

I made this 13 years ago for my GCSE project. I daydreamed that one day it would be used for my children, and it still makes me smile every day I see one of them using it. Infact when I was trying to photograph the back today, S remained stubbornly unco-operative and refused to move. I decided my blog isn't about perfectly lit and posed photos, so he's included in the shot of the back :-)

So, this post has become about things I have made, rather than things I am making. Next up is the blanket I made when pregnant with Mr Bean :-) Not my best work, nor to my current colour taste, but it was the first blanket I ever made, and I can still remember resting the squares on my bump! (I miss my bump, it was a handy crochet table). Again, apologies for the alphabet background, I have to quickly snap photos in the 2 minutes the tiddlers are occupied!

 

 

My tension is all wibbly, the blanket is a bit heavy (its 100% cotton which I always find a bit heavy), and in hindsight, its a bit girly. But I hope Mr Bean will appreciate the effort when he's older.

 

I'm pondering subscribing to Simply Crochet, as it looks really good, but I'm going to try and get hold of an issue first so I can see if its worth the money, or whether my money could be put to better use (Yarn Hoarding!)

 

Anyhoo, off to do some domestics.

 

xx

Snuffly's Stripey Blanket!

At last! Its done!

10 months after I hoped I would have a blanket made, and 18 months after I should have started it, our youngest, Mrs Snufflebottom finally has a handmade blanket!

In a way I'm glad its taken as long as it has, as I actually love the fact by making it after she was born I could make a girly blanket rather than a neutral one (We didn't find out what we were having), and since having her, I've discovered stylecraft and a palette of Pinks & Greys that again I wouldn't have considered pre-birth.

Anyway, back to the blanket...

 

All rolled up...

 

 

Close up of the colours...

 

 

I had a lovely picture of it folded in her cot, but everytime I upload it, Blogger rotates it and it won't let me rotate it back! Doh!

 

The Facts:

 

Yarn: Stylecraft Special DK in Raspberry, Silver, Pale Rose, Cream, Pomegranete, Plum, Grape and Grey

 

Hook: 3.5mm

 

Size: 72cm x 104cm (A bit long and skinny, but it works fine in her cot, although too big for her buggy which it was originally intended for)

 

Edge:

 

1st round - I worked a row of DC across the bottom and top and did HTC along the edges to steal a bit more width. I still haven't cracked the ends of the rows, but I worked 3 HTC across every 2 rows and it appears to work ok.

 

2nd round - I worked TC in raspberry all the way round.

 

3rd Round - HTC in Silver.

 

Final round - TC in Grape.

 

UPDATE!! Blogger behaved and let me add the photo!! :-)

 

 

To Frog or To Add... Help!!

Today I feel a bit deflated! I've been beavering away trying to get E's blanket finished so I can start something new, and I think I've got a bit carried away with myself...

 

This is when I wish I hadn't caved into my controlling side and done a repeating pattern... If I hadn't then it wouldn't matter when I had to stop, but I had my eyes on 2 more colours (Dark Grey & Raspberry) to complete off the blanket. Now I think if I do that its going to look more like a table runner than a blanket... So the question is to:

 

1. Frog it back to the last row of raspberry, when it'll be a bit too short and squat but will conform to my colour scheme.

 

2. Add the 2 more colours and hope it doesn't look ridiculous when its got the edge on.

 

3. Leave it as it is, but always have the niggle that I ended mid colour sequence.

 

I wanted it to measure 70cm by 90cm, the average sized pram blanket. Its currently 70cm by approx 97cm which is why it just looks poopy. :-(

 

Any advice much appreciated, I think I'm going to go and sulk in a corner until someone comes up with a faboulous way to fix my problem.

Humf.

My Little Bit Of Something!

Hellooo *waves*

Recently, I've been pondering a name change for this blog (although maybe agonising would be a better description). You see, this stopped being my little bit of nothing a while back and really became my little bit of crochet. My cuddly little corner where I can embrace my inner "crochet nerd" (hubbys description), and splurt out all the stuff that other people find equally interesting but that just makes my hubby glaze over :-)

I wanted something to included Mrs Snufflebean, although on the face of it a slightly childish username, it means a lot to me. Its a combination of the nicknames I had for my children before they were born, and I quite like its silly nature, it matches me :-)

Anyhoo, as some of my twitter followers will know, decisions don't come easily to me. I have pondered several name changes, or none at all. some considered were:

• Made By Laurelin
• Mrs Snufflebeans Making Adventures (which for some reason I thought sounded a tad rude)

And Finally...

• Mrs Snufflebean Makes...

Yep, you guessed it, this is the one that won beat the small number of opponents away and has won (look up... yes up there, can you see! I've already changed it!)

Anyway, along with a new Blog name will inevitably come a change of blog address. I have decided to keep it simple and I am going to change to MrsSnufflebean.blogspot.co.uk. I didn't want to add the "make" in, as then the address will be too long like the current one, and I was desperate for a shorter web address.

I'm changing the address in the settings, So I'm not entirely sure if it will update automatically to people who follow me, so if it doesn't you may have to refollow. I know there's only 4 of you, but I hope you pop along over to my new address :-)

Apologies for the lack of photos, theres only so many photos of a grey and pink blanket I can post! Although I'm nearly finished with the main body of the blankets (about 10 rows to go), and then I can finally start on a border!

I'm going to put mylittlebitofnothing.blogspot.co.uk address onto a blank blog with this post to direct people to my new address, but I'm hoping you all find me!

Plodding Along...

Helloo

 

First of all, not much to report on the Crochet front, its our first day "at home", this week after a busy few days at work and baby groups. I love Thursdays, its my day to breathe, relax, try and sort the house out and hopefully, soldier on with Mrs Snufflebottom's blanket.

 

Its shaping up nicely, I am still completely in love with the colour scheme, and think I will make another one afterwards and try and embrace a less controlling side of me and do random width stripes as they worked so so well on the cushion that because the inspiration for this blanket. Heres a sneaky peak of it, alongside my other WIP.

 

 

(Phew! Better light in the house today.)

I also, whimsically agreed to make my friends son a blanket to snuggle in, so I have 2 blankets on the go at the same time. Luckily, I've run out of yarn for his blanket which gives me an excuse to soldier on with Mrs S's while I wait for more to arrive.

In other news... Today I have an honourary editor to my blog... Mrs Snufflebottom no less!

She is currently busy bashing the desk and making sure I do as I'm told. She also seems to be partial to Jessie J and Robbie Williams as she keeps having a little dance! She also seems determined to prevent me from getting anything useful done by squealing every time I sit her down to play. Even the Jumperoo won't occupy her this morning. Demanding little lady...

Anyway, I'm off to try and get a bit more crochet done. Sorry I had nothing entertaining/meaningful to report!

 

Kissingtons.

xxx

One of a kind

Normally I try to restrict my postings to being about Crochet, as its my only outlet to talk about it (other than twitter), as hubby just thinks I'm a bit of a nerd for enjoying it so much.

 

But yesterday I just marvelled at how cute and lovely Mr Bean is :-) I love the way he's still at an age (2), where he is entertained by the simplest of things. Yesterday he was busying himself with the incredibly important job of sticking clothes pegs on every available handle. (See Below)

He loves to potter, doing things that mean so much to him, but to an adult mind simply don't make sense at all!

 

He also loves clocks. Big ones, small ones, digital, analogue.. You name it, he's enthralled with it & he's regularly to be found pottering around with watches all up his arms. (See below).

 

 

It just shows that even from when we're teeny, we all have our little quirks. He likes watches & pegs, I like crochet and picking lovely squishy thread. I'm going to embrace the weirdness individuality of my children!

 

Back to crochet... (I knew I couldn't write a whole post without including some crochet!

 

I'm currently in a conundrum about picking threads for a baby blanket for a friend. As far as I'm aware, they don't plan to find out what they're having and I find Apricot/Peach/Lemon/Mint a horrible cliche and I don't think I could bring myself to crochet in these colours AT ALL.

 

Luckily, twitter exists, as my little fledgeling blog has maybe 3 readers (on a good day), so unfortunately a plea for help will probably go unanswered. Thanks to the lovely fellow crocheters in the twittersphere,  I think I have decided on this yarn in White, Silver & Pistachio and I think I am going to do a ripple. I would love to add arctic blue or smokey rose, but I think gender specific colours are a no-no (I made Mr Bean a blanket when pregnant, and I think the pink I added with the blue makes it look too girly).

 

I'm itching to click the order button, but unfortunately (or fortunately), I really must finish Mrs Snufflebottom's blanket & the blue/grey blanket for my friend before I let myself start another.

 

Oooo is that nearly wine-o-clock?!

 

*Potters off to fridge*

Who Knew Grey Could Be So Colourful...

Although I only just posted about falling in love with mini-blankets, I decided I really must finally make Mrs Snufflebottom the blanket I've been meaning to make since before she was born. On one hand I feel guilty, as I lovingly spent weeks making Mr Bean a blanket before he was born, and I attempted to make her one, and yep you guessed it, Mr Bean lay claim to it as his "Boing Boing Blanket" See this post.

However, I think it might have been fate, as last week I stumbled across the loveliest colour combination, and I knew it was destined to be her blanket colours! So off I tootled and ordered some new Stylecraft (Does anyone else get excited like Christmas for new yarn?!)*

And here it is... Pinks, purples & greys, so subtle and calming, can't wait until its finished!

 

And so it started... (Again, you'll have to excuse the shocking lighting in these photos, they're just iPhone snaps as I didn't have the energy to the the camera out)

 

..And it grew...

 

 

...and then I noticed this...

 

 

..Yuck!! I'd done 9 more rows since the mistake, otherwise I would have unpicked it all and started again, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my crochet.

 

Anyway, back to the point, I tweeted a picture of it growing and one of my friends asked me to make one for her little man, and now suddenly I have 2 Blankets on the go, I've decided to have a "day blanket" and an "evening blanket". You know what they say about variety... (and yes, I am completely aware I am a little bit strange).

 

Here is the second one.. this time I'm using my own colour choices (soo excited that I didn't steal someone elses colours for once). I'm hoping it works as it grows, we'll see...

Phew i'm up to date with my blogging! Special thanks have to go to Mrs Snufflebottom who had a daytime sleep for the first time in days and to Mr Bean who has sat next to me colouring and made an impromptu appearance in a photo. :-)

Off to make a warm cup of tea, the one I made has gone ice cold and even I have my standards!

Huglettes

xx

 

*Does anyone else feel like a wannabe American when they say Yarn... It just doesn't feel right. :-S

Better Late Than Never...

Well, this post was supposed to be written about a week ago when I finished my "circles in squares" mini blanket, however, my children have had other ideas, Mrs Snufflebean is currently struggling to cut a tooth which means I am thin on the ground for time to do anything (and yes, that includes sleeping. *yawn*)

 

Anyhoo, I started this blanked with the intention of making it into a big blanket for Mr Bean, but somewhere along the line, I fell out of love with Crochet Squares, I just can't get them to sit right when I crochet them together, and I'm a bit finickity which means I always hate how I can never quite get the border square. So... That meant that halfway through making it, the blanket got downsized (heavily), and will now make a lovely dolls blanket for someone. Here is it in all its teeny weeny glory... (P.S apologies that my pictures are a bit pants compared to others in blogland, but I've discovered we have rubbish lighting for photos in our house. I think I'm going to have to resort to outdoor photography when the weather improves)

 

 

 

And here is a perfect example of what I mean about the borders... I just dont think they ever look right...

 

And here it is in a little squidgy curly swiss-roll type thingy... (You have no idea how hard it was to get this photo so the light was right and so that it was in a location that was nice and plain and didn't include family-related mess clutter!)

Right, I'm off to immediately write the second post I've been inteding to write for a week, apologies for the splurge of posts but I must get up to date with my news!!

 

TTFN

 

xx

All Good Things...

Since last blogging I have had a mini-lightening strike in the crochet department. As many others do, I love to follow Lucy over at Attic 24. One of her latest projects helped a great cause for comic relief and she made 2 of the cutest little dolls blankets.

Anyhoo, I love to crochet but don't always have the time or energy for big projects as the tiddlers take up most of my time, so I decided of embark on a copy of the mini ripple dolls blanket and I have to say I'm a smitten with the size, ease and complete cuteness of the blanket. I definitely feel I've found my calling with mini crochet!!

 

It all started off with a first attempt at a ripple, isn't it wibbly and pretty!

... And it ended with the cutest, little ripply blanket (see crochet hook for size guide!). Which granted, could do with blocking out, as my tension was a little bit iffy.

 

I was most proud about being able to make the ripple straight(ish!), I've never done it before, and as I was copying the mini-ripple pattern from Attic24, I had to make up my own method for making the edges straight. I'm actually a teeny bit giddy over my ability to do it!! Its soooo cute.

 

Here it is all rolled up and teeny, sorry for the backgroud, the light in my house is not great today as the sun is low in the sky, so the only place the light was OK was on top of the printer!!

 

I'm just in the process of finishing off my second mini-blanket (It was intended as a normal sized blanket, but mini-crochet has downsized it), and then I have just had a eureka moment with a colour scheme I've been trying to find for Mrs Snufflebottoms pram blanket (She's 9 months old and I still haven't got round to making one!). I am going to use pink & grey in a total rip off from Sharon at Annie's Place! (I'm hoping she'll be nice enough to let me know what colours she's using as I can't quite guess the colours from her picture)

Right I'm off to stare at the computer screen to try and work out these colours, I MUST order them today, oo it feels like christmas!

Its Been A Long Time...

Ooo hello,

I just realised life has taken over and I haven't posted anything in a long time (not that I'm actually sure anyone even reads this!). I have been busy keeping the tiddlers happy and contented and have been crocheting away like a little busy bee, but as yet I don't have another finished item to show you.

I'm still plodding along with this blogging lark, even though I'm beginning to lose a little faith in it. So many other people seem to have such lovely photos and stories, and it makes my rambles seem, well, rather mundane!

 

Anyway, on a more positive note, here is a little photo bomb of bits I've been up to since I last blogged...

 

 

 

 

 

1. A potholder I made it a fit of restlessness for a friend. I used the pattern from Color 'n' Cream, but used up old thread.

 

2. Port - Yummy. Don't need to say anymore really!

 

3. Cut myself on a wine glass, but the consolation was I got to use one of my Hello Kitty plasters!

 

4. I bought this fab Stylecraft Special DK shade card from Masons. It means I don't have to try and guess the colours from my computer screen!

 

Back to the present. This week I have mainly been battling with an endless amount of washing and cleaning. I often fail, much to the despair of my husband! (I am not one of lifes naturally tidy people). I have also been working simultaneously on 2 new blankets, one for Mr Bean and one for a friends daughter using up the lilac tones from my Lucy pack that just aren't "me". I will try and take some photos, but currently time is at a premium and my tiddlers win out every time.

 

Toodle Pip! xx

Mr Beans Blanket!

Yay! My first blanket is finished!! Heehee

 

 

Look at Mr Bean's blankety loveliness! He has been snuggled with it in his "Mini Man Chair" to watch Cbeebies for a few days now :-)

To be honest, I can't say I'm totally in love with it, the colour sequence looks lovely on someone elses blanket, but to be honest when I started making it I realised, as lovely as Attic24's colours are, they're just not "me". Anyhoo, more of that another day as I have plenty of ideas brewing... 

On a side note: Any tips on how to work edges on a stripey blanket (in particular the first round)? I fudged the sides a bit by doing 2dc in one row and then 1dc in the next row so they didn't make the blanket go ruffly. Any tips would me much appreciated! (See what I mean in the pic?)

Already pondering my next project as I've promised myself I MUST use up the remaining Lucy Pack before I buy "me" colours.

 

Toodly pip :-)

Weekly Weigh In!

First full week on WW and I have lost 3.5lb!

That is all :-)

The Smallest Things

The thing I love most about my children is their endless ability to find joy in the smallest things. I'm a great believer that kids don't need to be inundated with toys to be happy.

Yesterday was a perfect example:

Mr B has a thing for posting things places, it keeps him busy for hours. Yesterday when tidying up I found this:

It made me smile :-) (And yes, that is toast in a piggy bank)

Mrs snufflebean became completely infatuated with a paper envelope, there were tears and tantrums when we tried to remove it from her. Here she is in action:

I love the smallest things, they make my kids, and in turn me, smile and laugh from ear to ear. It makes the broken nights and temper tantrums fade away into the distance.

Life is good :-)

Mixed fortunes

Hmm.. Supposedly I've just completed my first week of weight watchers. Although, due to a fruit tart / McDonald's situation involving forgetting I was on a diet, I've managed to gain a pound. Not quite the brilliant start I was hoping for :-s

Anyhoo, onwards and upwards! I WILL stick to it next week and point everything! (Hopefully).

On a happier note, I've been crocheting away like a little gremlin and my first blanket keeps growing. It was intended as a pram blanket for Mrs Snufflebottom, however, Mr Bean has laid claim to it for his chair, so she'll have to wait for hers!!

Toodle pip!

P.S - it's quite chilly here today!